Let's party like its 1995

What a weekend. I spent mine on the Lake of the Ozarks in Mizzou, consuming way too much beer and getting way too little sleep. But that didn't prevent me from watching the Huskers' dominating performance against Nevada, thanks to my cousin having a 30 inch flat screen with satellite on his dock. For a complete statistical analysis, I suggest heading over to Double Extra Point, where they continue to amaze with their gift of breaking down the numbers.

My thoughts from Nebraska's opening win:

-We don't know how much to put into Marlon Lucky's dominating performance just yet. Any time someone rolls up 230-plus yards at a 7.75 per-carry clip, you have to take notice. Showing great field vision and speed, Lucky was particularly effective on the stretch plays and other runs of the off-tackle variety. What stood out is how despite having backups that were also playing well, Callahan stuck with Lucky long after the outcome had been determined, as if to show everyone that he can handle a large amount of carries without hurting something. Now, the real question we have to wait to have answered is whether he can do it against the likes of USC's Ray Maualuga and Brian Cushing in two weeks. Still, all concerns aside, it was satisfying to watch the Huskers feature a back and have him perform well, especially a guy like Marlon who has been through so much during his tenure in Lincoln.

-70 RUSHING ATTEMPTS!!! Sometimes a team is fortunate to get 70 plays total, but for Nebraska to run the ball 70 times is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the depth and quality of the offensive line. With 413 yards on the ground (and a couple of options thrown in), one couldn't help but feel nostalgic on Saturday. It was thrilling to watch the Huskers run at will, essentially saying "Here's what we're gonna do, it's your job to stop it." That was a lot of fun.

-Sam Keller's solid performance of managing the game was maybe not what most Husker fans were expecting to see, but it is exactly what this offense calls for. There will come times this season where Keller will have to carry the Huskers on his back, but Saturday was not one of them. He played efficiently, completing some nice intermediate throws and avoiding mistakes, his lone gaff being a tipped ball that resulted in a pick-6 for the Wolfpack. One of his throws stood out in particular to me: a deep drag to McNiel (which some say was intended for Hardy) was very impressive, a frozen rope that Zac Taylor never had the arm strength to pull off. When a QB can sling it like that, it makes it tough for defenses to stop him. That said, while I look forward to Sam having the opportunity to air it out, it really isn't necessary when your getting 6 yards a pop on the ground.

-I know I wasn't the only one pleasantly surprised by Nebraska's special teams performance. Grixby had a nice 46-yard kickoff return to stifle Nevada's momentum after their interception TD, and Kunilac nailed a 46 yard field goal as well. While that may not be cause for celebration at other schools, after last year's shortcomings in the kicking game it was one of the highlights of the game.

-The secondary played fairly well Saturday, although there were a couple plays where Grixby was exposed and turned around, but considering the talk about the "Pistol" offense and it's intricacies, one can't be too disappointed, especially considering it was the first game of the season. Asante dropped a sure touchdown, but other than that there wasn't too much to complain about.

-Welcome to Lincoln, Mr. Castille. I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Am I the only one who is absolutely giddy that this guy is only a freshmen? He's gonna be a great inside compliment to Lucky's outside bursts.

-I was encouraged by the Huskers' offensive explosion in the third quarter. Last year's struggles in that stanza have been well documented, and it was refreshing to see the Big Red come out and slam the door in Nevada's face instead of giving them any glimmer of hope. 4 scoring drives, one of them capped by the aforementioned Kunilac field goal.

-The pound-the-rock playcalling allowed Callahan to keep his tricks up his sleeve and avoid tipping off the next couple of week's opponents as to what other stuff the Huskers have in their playbook. This, in my opinion, was a big plus of this weekend's win.

-What was with the tunnel walk? Could it have been cheesier or nauseating? Maybe I'm in the minority, but I thought it did little to induce goosebumps like last year's Contender montage did. Between the plane thing and the computer graphics, it was nearly embarrassing. The only good thing was the music, which incorporated Sirius with a new beat. But aside from that, a piss-poor effort on many fronts.

It was fun to see an old-fashioned Big Red ass-kicking, but we'll see if that happens when we face stiffer competition. While Nevada is no slouch, they aren't USC either. As far as the schedule goes, I'm going to look around the nation tommorow, the Big 12 on Thursday, and then Friday I'll write my preview for Wake Forest, who is coming off a loss to an overrated Boston College team. Here's to hoping that this was the first of many wins to come this season.